Gary Shticks It to Mira

Garry Shandling probably didn't mean to give an impromptu performance at Carrie Fisher and Penny Marshall's annual birthday bash at Fisher's Beverly Hills home on October 19, but people certainly started laughing when he tried to flirt with Mira Sorvino. A spy tells us that Shandling started chatting up the actress at the star-studded soirée, which was attended by Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Matthew Perry, and Courtney Cox-Arquette. But apparently the comedian -- once linked to Calista Flockhart -- got shot down almost immediately. "He said to her, 'Oohhh, I see. I see how it is,' " our spy reports. "And then she looked at him and said, 'What? You see how what is?' " Fortunately for Sorvino, that's when an old friend -- actor Jay Huguley -- walked up, freeing her from the close encounter with Shandling. The comic continued to linger until Sorvino and Huguley finished catching up. Afterward he turned to Huguley and griped, "Thanks, pal. There goes my chance with Mira!" When Huguley apologized, Shandling tried to deflect his rejection by cracking, "Just kidding -- how's my hair?" A rep insists Shandling knows she's in a long-term relationship with French actor Olivier Martinez: "He's not that kind of guy. He's always kidding around. That's his shtick."

Keeping It in the Family

You'd think the Osbournes would have nothing to left to hide now that MTV turned their lives into an open book. But you'd be wrong. Everyone working on Sharon's birthday party on New Year's Eve at the Beverly Hills Hotel -- where she and Ozzy will also celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary by renewing their vows -- has been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement. The more-than-two-page agreement forbids talking about the family in any way that "may harm, disparage, demean, or reflect negatively or poorly upon or cause injury to the reputation, character, or career of any of the Osbourne Parties." The penalty for breaking the agreement? One million dollars. And if they do need to take legal action, the contract stipulates that the offender must pay the Osbournes' attorney fees and expenses. A rep for the Osbournes says there are some things the family just wants to keep private and this night is one of them. Well, maybe. There's a chance MTV will be filming the big night: "It all depends on if they have enough in the can for the show."

Connie Chung Joins Jet Set

The Delta Shuttle doesn't have a first-class section, but don't tell Connie Chung. On
a recent Washington–to–New York flight, the CNN anchor received the kind of special treatment that, according to Delta policy, is usually reserved for diplomats, heads of state, and other high-profile security risks. Attendants informed boarding passengers that they could not sit in any of the first three rows, despite the usual first-come-first-served seating. As the 9:30 p.m. departure time approached, the pilot started getting anxious. "We don't hold this plane for anybody," he was heard to say. "We leave on time!" At the last possible minute, Chung and six others from CNN bounded onto the plane. "With all the fuss, people were expecting to see Bill and Hillary," our source says. "It was pretty disappointing."

Missy Elliot Makes a Run for It

Earlier this summer, doctors informed Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Missy Elliot that she suffers from high blood pressure and should lose some weight. So she took their advice and ran with it. "I go to the gym four or five times a day and I run," she told us at last week's "In Concert" series at Irving Plaza. "I get on the treadmill and do like 45 minutes." As one would expect from such a grueling routine, the formerly rotund rapper has shed major poundage. (She refuses to step on a scale, but her rep told us she's gone from a woman's extra-large to at least a medium.) But don't look for the Miss E diet book anytime soon: "I still eat wrong, but for the most part I spend so much time running that my body's like, Okay, away goes that steak and cheese, away goes that Twinkie." But she is careful to check the clock when she gets the munchies. "I don't eat late," she said. "I probably stop around 8:30, but it should be earlier than that. Sometimes I'll be in the studio late, and it's like, 'Uh, guys, I get a Big Mac or some ice cream or something.' "

Hollywood News

Tobey Maguire may command $12 million a picture now, but that doesn't mean he's forgotten who his friends are. We hear the Spider-Man star recently let his pal Kevin Connelly shoot a short film, Whatever We Do, in his Hollywood Hills home. "It's a look at life in Hollywood," Maguire's rep told us. "Don't trust anyone, especially around your fiancée." The flick features Robert Downey Jr., Tim Roth, Amanda Peet, and Zooey Deschanel. Maguire isn't in it, but he has a producer credit.